Pakistan will execute two men convicted in a 2020 motorway gang rape case after an appeal against their sentences was dismissed by the Lahore High Court.
According to Dawn News, an anti-terrorism court handed down death sentences besides life imprisonment and multiple jail terms to the two convicts, Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga.
The appeals contended that there were several doubts about the prosecution’s version of events and the trial court’s judgement was too harsh.
But the state prosecutor said that the prosecution had overwhelming evidence against the convicts and requested the court to uphold their sentences.
The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa, issued their verdict yesterday.
Motorway gang rape
According to court records and media reports, the victim was a French-Pakistani woman in her early 30s who was traveling at night with her three young children on the Lahore–Sialkot Motorway in September 2020.
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Her car ran out of fuel, and she called for help while waiting inside the vehicle. Before assistance arrived, two armed men approached the car, broke a window, forced her and the children out, and sexually assaulted her.
The attackers also robbed her of cash and valuables before fleeing.
The case caused widespread outrage across Pakistan, not only because of the crime itself but also because a senior police official made comments that were widely criticised as victim-blaming.
The incident led to protests, intense media coverage, and renewed debate about women’s safety and the handling of sexual violence cases.
Authorities later identified and arrested the two men using DNA evidence, mobile phone data, and the victim’s identification of the suspects.
They were convicted in 2021, and in June 2026 the Lahore High Court upheld their convictions and death sentences after rejecting their appeals.
The death penalty is allowed under Pakistani law for certain crimes, including:
- Murder
- Terrorism-related offences
- Rape (especially in aggravated cases, including gang rape)
- Blasphemy (though executions are rare in practice)
In practice, executions are relatively rare, and many death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment or remain pending for years.
Pakistan does not operate a full, unified Sharia law system, but Islamic law does play an important role in its legal system.
It is officially an Islamic Republic, and its constitution requires that laws be consistent with Islam. There is also a federal body called the Council of Islamic Ideology, which reviews legislation and advises whether laws align with Islamic principles.
However, Pakistan’s legal system is mainly a common law system inherited from British colonial rule. That means most laws are based on statutes, criminal codes, and court precedent—not purely religious law.
Where Islamic law does apply more directly is in certain areas, such as:
- Blasphemy laws (strictly enforced under the penal code)
- Hudood laws (introduced in the 1970s–80s, covering offences like theft, adultery, and alcohol use, though heavily modified and challenged in practice)
- Family law and inheritance, where Islamic principles are often used
